Henning van der Hoeven: Mindset

The image created in my mind about Finland, and the Finns is based on the little that I know about their history like the Winter War against the Russians. Hell, they beat Napoleon and Hitler but guess what, Finland with just a few good men, had beaten the big bear at their own game.

A vocational school offering guidance to students in Mikkeli asked they’re interested in nature, plants and flowers? Studying gardening would be an interesting profession.

The Finnish man is not of many words. He is a man that doesn’t bicker about what he does not have and just uses what he has to survive and thrive (they even have a word for this, ‘SISU’). This is the image of Finland and of the Finnish people I have so you can imagine how astonished and confused I become when I see the opposite happening. The elections are approaching, and I see these same men just talking all the time and some of them are even shouting out loud. None of them are, however, doing anything to fix the situation.

The most peculiar thing about this is that these men are the ones that call themselves “real” Finns. These men are the ones that oppose everything that is foreign yet they adopted the worst type of behavior by “shouting, blaming and bickering instead of fixing and moving forward.”

One of the things that I like most about Finland is that the Finnish people do not talk a lot. They are doers. They do not bicker; they are extremely honest, and they are no no-nonsense. Maybe I was blinded by love. I don’t think so.

When I look past these men standing in front of the line trying to blind others with their fears, I see the REAL Finnish man quietly doing his job. He is doing his part to keep and make Finland a better place day by day. So I choose to ignore those that shout in public. Instead, I too roll up my sleeves and join those REAL Finnish men I’ve learned to admire.

No one wants to live in a weak and poor community. Everyone wants to live a peaceful life and provide a good future for their children. And given the opportunity most people will work hard to do attain such things.

Please give them the chance to do this, to roll up their sleeves and do their part in helping create a better and stronger community for our future and for that of our children.